Favorite memories of the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup run
10 years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins had one of the most memorable Stanley Cup runs ever. Let’s look back at some of the best memories from it.
They say that time flies when you are having fun. For Pittsburgh Penguins fans, the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin era has been a massive success and a whole lot of fun. On June 12, 2009, the Penguins won their third Stanley Cup, their first of the Crosby and Makin era.
A decade later, here is a look back at some of my favorite memories of that championship run.
April 17, 2009
Chris Kunitz was such a great fit in Pittsburgh. After Kunitz drew a slashing call that gave the Penguins a 5 on 3 man advantage, Sergei Gonchar used his patented pump fake, and found Bill Guerin along the goal-line. Guerin then snuck the puck through Marty Biron’s five-hole to give the Penguins a 2-0 series lead.
April 25, 2009
With the Penguins trailing the Flyers 3-0 in Game 6 of this series, it appeared the teams were heading back to Pittsburgh for a Game 7. Not on Max Talbot’s watch. Talbot was looking for anything to help get the Penguins going, and he baited Daniel Carcillo into a scrap.
It still puzzles me to this day as to why Carcillo accepted this invitation. Talbot lost the fight but played a crucial role in waking the Penguins up and igniting a rally.
14 seconds after Talbot’s fight, Evgeni Malkin scored to make it a 3-1 game. A few minutes later, Mark Eaton joined the rush and played the role of Barry Bonds, by batting the puck into the net to get the Penguins to within a goal.
Sidney Crosby then tied the game late in the second period. Within 15 minutes, the Flyers 3-0 lead had vanished. Sergei Gonchar and Crosby scored in the third period to win the game and to send the Flyers packing for the summer.
May 4, 2009
As hockey fans, we have been very lucky to have witnessed the respective careers of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Their talents were on full display on this night. Both players registered a hat trick and combined to score 6 of the 7 total goals in this contest. Ovechkin and the Capitals won this game 4-3, but it was a unique display of individual greatness by two generational talents.
May 6, 2009
With the Penguins trailing the Capitals 2-0 in this series, Game 3 at Mellon Arena was a must-win for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang’s half-slapper found the back of the net in overtime, as he sent a white-out full of yinzers home happily.
May 13, 2009
Three minutes into Game 7, Alex Ovechkin blew right past Rob Scuderi and had a great chance to give the Capitals an early 1-0 lead. Marc-Andre Fleury would have none of that. As the hall of famer Mike Lange would say, Fleury sat right down and wrote himself a letter.
The Penguins depth was on full display on this night, as they dominated the Capitals in a 6-2 victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
May 18, 2009
Miroslav Satan was a trooper. He allowed the Penguins to send him down to the AHL for 10 games in order to help create salary cap space. General Manager Ray Shero told Satan that Pittsburgh would need him in the playoffs.
Shero held true to his word, and Satan’s patience paid off, as he made a nice deke and slid the biscuit right past Cam Ward to open the scoring in Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
May 21, 2009
Game 2 against Carolina was a dandy. It featured 5 first period goals, and Carolina appeared to be in control of this game. That was until Evgeni Malkin became unstoppable. I have mentioned before that Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Paul Coffey are the only three players in NHL history to have scored more playoff points in one postseason than Malkin’s 36 in the 2009 playoff year.
Malkin scored 6 goals and tallied 9 points in the 4 game series against Carolina. His dominance was on full display on this night. Malkin’s hat trick propelled Pittsburgh to a 7-4 victory.
The video below is my favorite Malkin goal of all-time. Bill Guerin’s quote and Mike Lange’s goal call summarize Malkin’s dominance in short fashion.
Guerin on Malkin in the 2009 Eastern Conference Final: "He couldn't be stopped. He had it in his head that he was going to dominate. And that's exactly what he did."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 5, 2019
Relive the hype: https://t.co/YfcRU2kNkX pic.twitter.com/7dWmq9Ggg2
June 4, 2009
This beauty of a short-handed goal by Jordan Staal was a turning point. It was unsung hero Mark Eaton starting the defensive zone breakout and the puck support of Max Talbot that helped spring Staal.
From there, Staal beat two great defenders in Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, and buries it past Chris Osgood to tie the game at 2. Pittsburgh went on to win this game 4-2 and even the series.
June 9, 2009
While Rob Scuderi was not known for his offense, he sure knew how to block shots. Scuderi made 3 pivotal stops on Johan Franzen in the waning moments of Game 6. He is commonly referred to as “the piece” because of these denials. Scuderi’s blocks enabled the Penguins to hold on and win Game 6 by a 2-1 score.
June 12, 2009
What a night this was. I remember watching it in my living room as a 10-year-old. Max Talbot became the hero by tallying two goals in a 2-1 Pittsburgh victory. On the second goal, Chris Kunitz did a great job of placing the puck in into an area with open ice that sprung Talbot as he wristed it past netminder Chris Osgood.
Marc-Andre Fleury’s knack for robbing hall of famers in crucial moments continued, as he denied Nicklas Lidstrom to secure the third Stanley Cup in Penguins history.
Next. Every Team's Mount Rushmore. dark
This was such a great postseason run for the Penguins. It was a sign of things to come, with two more Stanley Cups coming in 2016 and 2017. 2009, though, will remain in the hearts of Penguins fans forever. Thanks for reading!